Posts and poles, such as long utility poles, can be difficult to mount on a supporting surface such as a concrete base so that they are truly vertical. Because of this difficulty, special base attachments have been developed to allow the orientation of the post or pole to be adjusted after it is first mounted on the concrete base. However, the known systems can be fairly complex and relatively expensive.
It is also often necessary to mount machinery, such as manufacturing equipment, so that the base of the machine is completely horizontal and various connectors have been developed for this purpose. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,441,743 issued Oct. 28, 2008 to ALSTOM Technology Ltd. describes a fastening arrangement for a machine base, this arrangement being connected to and supported by a concrete base into which extends an inner anchor shank. A steel foundation plate is mounted on the concrete base and the machine base is mounted on top of this plate. A so-called anti-fatigue bolt/stud connects the machine base to the foundation and is screwed into the top end of the anchor shank. A securing nut can be threaded onto the threaded upper end of the bolt/stud.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,271 issued Jul. 8, 1997 to M. D. Nunez describes a mechanism for adjusting the vertical orientation of a fence post assembly having a flat mounting plate located at the bottom end of the post. A pair of bolts 50 pass through openings in the plate and are used to mount the plate to a concrete pad or slab. Two or more spaced apart levelling bolts extend through respective holes in the plate. By adjusting the position of these bolts or screws, the plate can be levelled on an uneven surface so that the vertical axis of the post is vertical.
Special mounts have also been developed for attaching panels, such as glass panels, that can be used along elevated railings or stairways. Special mountings of these types are available from the company CRL. These glass sheet mounts are provided with a mounting plate and attached to a surface of this plate are cylindrical steel connectors which can be made of stainless steel and which are internally threaded. These connectors can be connected to the mounting plate by centrally located screws that extend through the plate and they are provided with a pair of round caps that can be threaded into the central holes of the connectors. The inside surface of each cap engages one side of the glass sheet and acts to press the sheet against the cylindrical portion of the connector. The cylindrical steel connectors are sometimes referred to as standoffs and a surface to which they are connected is sometimes referred to as fascia.
It is important that the aforementioned glass panels are installed so that they are plumb and in line with one another. Small imperfections on the mounting surface or fascia may result in vertical misalignment of the standoffs and difficulties in lining up the panels. Although a shimming process can sometimes be used to alleviate these problems, it is not a very accurate method and often requires that the already mounted glass panel be taken off its connectors in order to give access to the mounting connectors. Another difficulty with the installation of these panels is that the mounting surface or fascia and/or the glass panels can easily be damaged.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved threaded connectors, which can be used to secure a structure such as a post, pole or panel to a support base or support surface and which will also allow some adjustment to the position of the structure during the mounting process.